Time Again
by baby's breath
Summary: Naruto turns to the Kyuubi for help when his pink-haired teammate suffers a life-threatening injury. When Sakura wakes up, she finds out she was in her village, but in a different time, and in a different body.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

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Naruto ran to where she was sprawled on the muddy earth, heart beating loudly in his ears that it was all he could hear amidst the cries of battle surrounding him. Her shirt was a sickly shade darker than its usual red, and the creamy shade of her skirt had taken on a red hue. Ungracefully, he fell beside her in a rush of panic, forgetting to be gentle as he slipped his left arm under her neck while the other reached for her blood-soaked hand.

She was still breathing—barely—but it was there. Slowly, her cracked lips stretched wearily to form a smile, as if to tell him she was okay, but he would not have any of it. The blood that was soaking even his clothes was telling him otherwise. In his blind rage and panic, he almost attacked a medic who came to aid her, but he managed to restrain himself. A few seconds was all it took for the young medic to check her, and before he could say a word the medic apologized and left to tend the others. He would have punched the man, yelled and begged to check her again, because _damn it_, he was not going to lose her like they lost Sasuke. However, the girl in his arms faintly squeezed his hand, and his attention was on her again.

"It's... okay," she managed to choke out, wincing as the two words introduced her to a whole new wave of pain.

He was crying now, the tears flowing down his cheek and falling on her face. He was crying for the both of them. "It's not! Just wait and see! Tsunade will be here soon and she-"

He paused as she shook her head gently, her features grimacing, but the pain would not let her tears out. "She can't do—!" The blood in her lungs gurgling out of her mouth cut her off.

He could only hold her as tightly as he could allow himself without adding any more to her pain. This was not happening. He hoped it was all just a terrible dream. But he would be lying to himself if he believed those. He whispered her name one more time, his tone desperate and his voice coarse. Anger was boiling inside him, emerging from within the dark depths of his conscious. He felt so helpless, and so useless. What kind of a friend was he if everyone he cherished so much was dying? He could hold himself against the likes of Obito and Madara, and yet, his friends were falling to the clutches of death one by one.

"Naruto..." He watched through narrowed eyes as her free hand came to rest on his tear-soaked cheek. She was smiling again, but the gesture barely reached her glazing eyes. From the trembling of her lips it was obvious that it was taking all of her willpower to keep the smile in place. Her thumb gently traced the whisker-like lines on his cheek, silently telling him that she had accepted her fate and that he should as well.

"You're not going to die!" He growled then, grinding his teeth together as he felt the chakra that was different than his own rise inside him. "I won't let it! Don't give up Sakura!" Her eyes were glazing over, he noticed, and so he crushed her lithe body to his own in a desperate hug, as though it will keep her life from retreating from her body. His own body was now surrounded by the orange glow of the Kyuubi's chakra, shaking from both anger and immense grief.

_I can save her._

The Kyuubi.

Briefly, his eyes widened. The Kyuubi's offer was tempting, considering the large amount of chakra the demon fox possessed. With its immense power there was little room for doubt that it could heal as well. After all, it had been healing him every time he got injured for as long as he could remember. But why Sakura? He and the Kyuubi had come to respect each other and had recently reached a truce. As far as the demon was concerned, its only worry would be if he, himself, was on the verge of death.

Naruto growled again, his anger now directed towards the entity residing within him. _'Now is not the time for games!'_ he reproached.

The Kyuubi only gave a dark chuckle. _I can save her, give her some of my own chakra._

Naruto's full attention was now on the fox. There was not a second to be wasted; every second he doubted the fox was Sakura's life ticking away. He quickly glanced at the girl in his arms; she seemed to have lost her conscious.

_'Sakura!'_

No. He would not lose her as well. Too many ninjas already lost their lives in this war. Neji died protecting him and he was unable to do anything but stand there in shock, his comrade's body leaning gently against him, lifeless. He would not let the same thing happen to Sakura. If the Kyuubi could save her, then he should not be doubting the fox. With determined eyes, he addressed the Kyuubi once more, his expression resolute.

'_Do it.'_

The demon closed its eyes, channeling its own chakra into the body of the kunoichi currently wrapped in its host's arms. Yes, it could save the girl, but its chakra would only bind with her soul. There was nothing it could do about the body, for even a demon like him could only heal the physical body of its own host. If the boy wanted the girl to live, her body would have to thrive in a different time; only in that body would the soul he was healing could be bound. Given the infinite amount of its chakra, the Kyuubi could do just that—send the soul to the body living in a different time.

There was a force that slowly darkened the battlefield, minutely distorting their scene, and in the darkness of its surroundings, the Kyuubi let out another round of low, suppressed laugh.

* * *

The warm rays of the sunshine gleamed on her eyelids, causing her to close her eyes a little tighter. Her body must have gone into shock, because she could not feel immense pain anymore. Although, from all her time as a medic, she always thought being in shock would leave a person unfeeling, more or less. She never supposed that it would feel this... comfortable. As though she was lying down on a soft bed with a snug comforter thrown over her body.

Her eyes snapped open then. The last thing she remembered was being thrown to the ground by the enemy's jutsu, and then there was nothing but pain in her stomach where she was hit. Her hand darted to her middle subconsciously at the thought, it had been covered in so much blood it was baffling that she managed to move without so much as a wince. Surprise etched on her face when she perceived nothing but the silk fabric of her red pajamas; there was no blood, no throbbing from the open wound she knew not even her sensei could heal quick enough to keep her alive.

Without further thought she shot up from her bed, taking in her surroundings with wide, disbelieving eyes. This was not even the hospital. There were no white walls, no life-support machines, or the smell of antiseptic that was eternally attributed to the hospital. Instead, the walls were the color of neutral brown, and there was only a dresser on her left side where a window was as well. The curtains were drawn over the window, and the light managed to seep through the space in between the thick fabric. She was in her own room and now that her senses are on full alert, she was certain she was not dreaming.

_'How long have I been sleeping?!'_

A miracle must have happened if she was able to survive that attack. There had been so much blood, and from what little she remembered, the medic who assessed her had shook his head at Naruto in a silent verification that nothing could be done to save her. Come to think of it, upon closer inspection there seemed to be no indication that her life had hung in the balance. There was not even a hint of a scar, considering how fatal the wound was. Even the scar she acquired from fighting the Akatsuki member, Sasori, was not present on her skin. Whoever healed her did an amazing job; it was a miracle indeed.

Sakura played with the material of her comforter, her brain sorting her current predicament. It was a bit out of the ordinary that she woke up in her own room though, rather than the hospital. They must have decided to transfer her home, after she stabilized, so she could fully recover. It could be that the war had ended and they needed more room in the hospital for the casualties of the war.

_'... the war!'_

In her mind, Sakura tried to calculate for how long she could have been asleep considering her state of recovery when she woke up. The only way to find out what kind of miracle had happened, or more appropriately _who_, was to go to the Hokage Tower. Surely, they would know what happened. They would be able to relay to her how the war had progressed while she was healing.

Sakura stumbled out of her bed, proceeding to rummage through her dresser for a change of clothes. Confusion marred her features when all she saw was her old red dress. She hadn't worn those in almost three years, and she could have sworn her mother had donated those to charity. That did not matter too much, so she grabbed the dress and a pair of black shorts. She figured it would still fit her; after all, only three years had passed and her body size had not significantly changed to the point where she would not be able to squeeze into the dress. There were more important things she had to sift through than the fit of her clothes.

It was at the moment when she put her dress on, when she felt her hair pressed on the skin of her back, that she realized that her hair had significantly grown in length.

She couldn't have been asleep for _that_ long!

Her fingers pulled at the pink strands, freeing them from her dress. Her hair went past her shoulders and were as long as she remembered them before her team took the Chuunin Exam.

Deciding that the length of her hair should not keep her from getting to the Hokage Tower any longer, Sakura reached for herforehead protector that was neatly folded on her dresser, tying it securely on her head. Without further delay, she left her room and headed downstairs. When she passed by a mirror that was hanging on the wall down the hallway, her whole body froze at the sight. Mouth open a little in shock, she reached for her cheek and let her fingertips caress the skin lightly before pinching it to make sure she really was not dreaming.

The twinge was all too real, and even more was her mother's voice who called from where she can only be too sure was the kitchen.

"Sakura! Hurry up or you'll be late for the academy!"

She panicked for a few seconds but gathered back her wits just as fast. She could possibly be walking into an enemy trap. The ongoing war was the last she remembered, and an enemy could have cast a genjutsu on her. A hint of a smirk graced her lips as she stalked down the stairs quietly, hands balling into fists in case of an attack. Genjutsu was her specialty and she would not be easily fooled. The one chance she met Itachi while they were on a mission to save Suna's Kazekage, she was able to see through the genjutsu that the Uchiha had cast on them. Together with Kakashi and Chiyo, she was able to dispel the genjutsu and help Naruto escape from his own illusion that Itachi directed at him.

Her alert, emerald eyes scanned her surroundings, looking for any signs, like a shift or a noise, that would tell her she was indeed under an illusion. Unfortunately, there were no indications that what she was seeing was being manipulated; in fact, everything her trained eyes could see was very much real. But to be on the safe side, she stopped the flow of her chakra in her body. Closing her eyes, she was engulfed in darkness momentarily before she opened them again along with a powerful burst of her chakra. By doing so, she would have disrupted the flow of the caster's chakra in her system, thereby effectively dissipating the genjutsu.

Nothing.

Rushing back to the mirror, she inspected her reflection once more, her breaths increasing in pace as realization dawned upon her. It seemed so ridiculous in her mind, so impossible. But the fact that after performing a genjutsu dissipation nothing had happened, and the fact that she was not in a dream, there was no other choice but to believe that the reflection staring back at her was the real deal.

She really was in her younger body again.

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**To be continued...**

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(bb) I just have to make a story of my own out of this old, beat-up plot. The lack of Sakura action in the manga had been very disappointing. It seems that Kishimoto-san forgot about our favorite heroine! (If you can still call her that :/) And the few scenes she had, she wasn't kicking ass but was crying for the most part. So I thought, enough of that! I shall shamelessly write a story with a kick-ass Sakura in it! And so, this baby is born. A bit of a warning though, I'm sticking to the manga as close as possible because I am not very creative and the whole purpose of this story is to change Sakura's character the way I always pictured it to be. So this is really for my ease of mind, but I want to share it with you readers.

I hope you guys enjoyed this!


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

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"Sakura! Do you not plan on going to the academy today? Isn't today important?"

Her ears picked up the sound of footsteps ascending the stairs, and her mother came into view. Her mother was younger-looking, with less wrinkles and worry on her face. The older Haruno appeared different, younger, than the last time Sakura saw her, and that was before she left for the war.

"Y-yes, mom. Of course," she managed to blurt out. Her face was warming up from the mix of emotions brewing inside her, and her head was hurting while she tried to theorize how it was possible that she was restored back to her younger self. The sight of her mother revealed to her that it was not only her who had aged backwards. This ruled out her speculation that it was only her body affected by... whatever it was that happened to her after she fell unconscious.

She was brought out of her thoughts when she felt her mother's cool palm on her forehead.

"Are you alright? You look sick," her mother inquired, worry evident in her voice.

"No, mom. I'm fine, really." She assured, adding a smile to be more convincing. It worked, because her mother retrieved her hand and returned the gesture.

There were two things Sakura was sure of right now: she was healed and alive, and she was restored back to her younger body, including her mother. Whatever happened to her, whatever powerful jutsu it was, affected not only her, but her mother as well. It was feasible that everybody else had been affected, and they would all be in their younger body too. This could put them at a great disadvantage against the enemies, turning the tables once again in favor of their opposers.

However, further analysis told her that her mother was not aware of anything that _should_ be happening right now. The mother she remembered had been overcome with worry because of the impending war and so far, there was no indication that her mother was even aware of how she had been so severely injured she should have been dead right now!

"Well, you should rush now or you'll be late." Her mother gave her a gentle push towards the stairs, the smile on her mother's face doubling.

As impossible as it sounded, Sakura came to the conclusion that she was thrown back into the past. If her deduction was correct, then this meant that everybody else would be at the academy right now. If they did not show any sign that it was unusual for them to be back in their younger selves, then that would only further solidify her current theory.

Her mother walked with her until they were at the door. "Let me know who your teammates are going to be!," her mother bid cheerfully, hugging her briefly before giving her a quick wave of goodbye and promptly sliding the door close.

Sakura stood at the front porch, her mouth agape, eyes staring at the dark finish of their door. _'Team selection? We are going to be assigned to our teams today?!'_

There was only a little room for doubt now, she could very well be back in the past!

Directing a small amount of her chakra to her feet, Sakura hopped to the roof. This would be the fastest way to the academy, and she would be able to observe the village from this location.

From her perch on the roof she saw the cliff where the faces of the previous Hokage were carved, and Tsunade's face was not on it. Sakura shook her head for a second, feeling a little lightheaded due to her current situation. Observing the people down below, they all looked calm, going about their daily lives with no worries or anxiousness.

The morning wind was still cool on her skin, causing her to shiver a little. She took one big breath to calm herself down; she must not panic, if this was not the enemy's effectuation, then they were all relatively safe. Sakura decided she must look at this logically and little by little if she ever wanted to figure out what happened to her.

Whatever was waiting for her at the academy would definitely substantiate this outrageous notion of her being back in the past. So many questions were running in her mind right now that only experience was preventing her from slipping and falling headfirst into the streets below. First thing first, she had to absolutely confirm if she really was in the past and if she was the only one who was aware of this. Her destination would help her with that. After that, she could puzzle out how she ended up in this state in the first place.

Anticipation and curiosity prompted her to quicken her pace.

* * *

Sakura landed on the grassy field next to the academy. From this point, she chose to walk instead, passing the swing tied to a huge tree that was the closest to the academy. She had to be careful not to attract any unnecessary attention if she really was in the past, and if she was the only one who was aware of this.

The academy was just as she remembered it. She easily found her old room, and by the time she reached out to slide open the door, she had to force her hand to stop from shaking. Slowly exhaling to steady herself, she proceeded to slide the door open and the sound of excited chatter welcomed her. Everybody was talking at once, unable to contain their excitement for passing the exam and graduating from the academy.

"Hey Sakura!"

She turned towards the direction of the voice that was loud enough to stand out above the noise of the room. There was no mistaking who the owner of that voice was. The sight of him, wearing that obnoxious orange jumpsuit once more and a blush adorning his whiskered cheeks, brought warmth to her. She never realized how bubbly and happy he used to be. The war had forced all of them to mature at a rapid rate, and it had taken all the innocence and joy away from them.

"Hey, Naruto," she greeted back, giving him a tentative smile. The act caused the blonde boy's face to redden ten times more, reducing him to a stuttering mess. Sakura felt amused by his response; she never really paid that much attention to his feelings before. When they were put under the same team she had been annoyed more than anything, and after he came back from his training with Jiraiya they both got caught up in the wave of events that led to the war. There was not enough time to sit down and ponder about matters of the heart.

Remembering where she was and how everyone was behaving—like someone who just passed their examination and just graduated from the academy—Sakura was jolted back to her present predicament. Each student in the room was acting normally relative to the current situation. There was nothing amiss about their actions, nothing that would indicate that they also found it bizarre to be in their younger selves again. They were all giving off an aura of innocence, something only present in students fresh from the academy.

It was not a dream, nor was it a genjutsu...

Finally coming to grips with her situation, she would have launched herself into another round of questioning and forming theories after theories to sort out all her thoughts, if Naruto did not interrupt her from her musing.

"Come sit next to me, Sakura!" he invited, patting the spot next to him with a wide grin on his face.

Her knees were shaking from the overwhelming emotions bubbling inside her. Thankfully, she managed to keep a straight face as she sauntered to where Naruto was sitting. She was so caught up in her present circumstances that she completely forgot the very person sharing the same table as Naruto.

"Sasuke!" she blurted out, unable to stop the name from escaping her lips. She should have been prepared to see him, considering that she was back to her twelve-year old self along with everybody else. Still, it had only been a couple of minutes ago that she fully realized that the impossible had happened to her—she was back in the past. She was too caught up in her thinking that it did not occur to her that being in the past meant that Sasuke would be back in Konoha too.

Seeing the dark-haired boy beside Naruto, his chin resting on his interlaced fingers like he often did, far different from the man she had attempted to kill but was unable to, Sakura felt tears sting her eyes. She was able to stop herself from crying though. It would not be good to be making such a big scene, and it would be difficult to explain why she would suddenly burst into tears just because she saw Sasuke.

Deciding to go with the flow for now and sort out her situation later when she was by herself, Sakura walked past Naruto to sit between her two teammates. She felt light, but this time it was because of happiness. No matter how bizarre her situation was, it weighed little compared to the fact that she was sitting between Naruto and Sasuke again, like it used to be a long time ago.

Moreover, no matter how upsetting it was, Sakura figured she would have to pretend to be that annoying little girl that she used to be many years ago, unless she wanted people questioning her for her sudden change in behavior. But at least she could tone it down a notch—a huge notch, especially because that crush had blossomed into love, now that she knew more about Sasuke and she managed to see beyond just his good looks.

Glancing at Sasuke, Sakura was about to greet him enthusiastically if not for Naruto appearing in front of him, scrutinizing him through narrowed, blue eyes. Then the boy behind Naruto, in a moment of disbelief, pulled his arm back to rest his elbow on the table behind him, effectively knocking Naruto off balance.

The scene was like a slow motion for her, and even her reflexes were not quick enough to stop Naruto from plunging face first into Sasuke, leading to their inevitable kiss.

"Wha..." she stared at the two choking boys, dumbfounded. A wave of memory washed over her, and she could say it was like a deja vu, although this one was real. She remembered how disgusted she was that Sasuke lost his first kiss to Naruto and not to her, and how she was ready to beat the blonde boy into a purple pulp.

This time she reacted differently. A surge of laughter erupted from her, and she had to hold her sides and wipe tears of mirth from her eyes. As fate would have it, even the years she spent training under the legendary Tsunade was not enough for her to stop her teammates' kiss a second time around. By the time she regained her composure, Naruto and Sasuke were done vigorously cleansing their mouths and were now looking at her like she had grown another head.

"Eh, Sakura. How was that funny?" Naruto drawled, wiping his lips a second time around with an upset look on his face.

"Sorry! Sorry..." She giggled again, unable to stop herself. "It shouldn't be funny..." she continued, clearing her throat to erase any remnants of laughter in her system, "Actually yeah. It's not funny! I should beat you right now, Naruto, for stealing Sasuke's first kiss!" She half-heartedly cracked her knuckles, directing a menacing glare at Naruto for added effect.

It worked. Naruto visibly shrunk against Sakura's sinister aura, but before she could proceed with her threat, Iruka entered the room, effectively quieting the class before him.

"Starting today, all of you are real ninjas. But you are still genin. The vigorous journey that lies ahead just started," he addressed the class, "As genin, you will receive missions that will help the village. Today, I will assign you to a three-man team, with a jounin who will train you and guide you through each missions..."

Sakura drowned out Iruka's speech to further assess her situation. Her last memory of the war was Naruto's frantic expression, as well as the massive pain caused by her injury. How did she end up in the past then? Her logical mind declared it impossible, but she was in the past now, was she not? Since it was a plausible feat, it would definitely require a substantial amount of chakra to bind a soul to its past body. She was on the verge of death... and Naruto was the last person beside her.

_Naruto!_

She glanced at the boy beside her, clad in his obnoxious orange jumpsuit and trying to focus on Iruka's speech. The last piece to this puzzle was Naruto. He had the Kyuubi inside him, an entity with an infinite amount of chakra. Naruto must have asked the Kyuubi to heal her in a final attempt to save her, and because her body was beyond repair, the Kyuubi chose to bind her soul to her younger body. That would also explain why her memory was intact. It all made sense now. She was brought back to the past because of the Kyuubi. It gave her a second chance at life.

"Team Seven! Haruno Sakura."

Sakura made a promise to herself. She would not waste this significant opportunity. This time, she would do everything she can so the war would not have to happen, or so that at least they would be better prepared for it. This time, she would do everything she can so they would not lose Sasuke in his drive for revenge. This time, she would make sure that she did not watch their backs anymore.

Sakura felt herself smile at this promise.

"Uzumaki Naruto..." Iruka called after he mentioned her name.

"Yeah!" Naruto stood up enthusiastically, fists extended in the air.

"... and Uchiha Sasuke!"

"Hell yeah!" Sakura exclaimed, imitating Naruto's earlier pose.

Indeed, she would not waste this chance.

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**To be continued...**

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(bb) I would like to thank everyone who took the time to review and add this story to their favorite/follow list. I really appreciate it:)

On another note, I apologize if this chapter was confusing and the "thrown back in the past" phrase got quite redundant. As I was writing this, I got a headache because Sakura was being really confusing, lol. I mean, it only makes sense that she would have a billion thoughts in her head, and I tried to capture all of it in this chapter. I refused to believe that she will accept her situation the first time she sees herself in the mirror; that's just unrealistic. So of course she has to make theories first, find supporting evidence, and then after that she can draw a conclusion!

This chapter is short, like the first one, but I decided it was good to end the chapter this way.

I hope you guys enjoyed this!


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

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The sun was high by the time Iruka dismissed them so they can have their break. Sakura chose a bench at the academy's backyard where the trees provided a nice shade against the sun's hot rays. It was nice and peaceful; she could not remember the last time she felt this serene. The war had forced them to mature so quickly, and there was little room for relaxation considering the endless number of casualties she had to deal with every day.

A warm breeze wafted past her, and she closed her eyes, cherishing the moment.

Her moment of meditation was abruptly broken when she felt eyes boring at her form, only to find Sasuke leaning against a tree with arms crossed in front of him. A memory clicked in her mind. It was a painful one, she remembered. Sasuke had told her off, called her annoying. It was at that time she realized that she should be a little nicer to Naruto, and now that she thought about it, this moment displayed how little she knew of Sasuke then.

"You sure have a nice forehead."

"Huh?" Sakura was pulled out of her reminiscing by Sasuke's words. She made a note to stop falling into deep thoughts too much, unless she wanted an enemy kunai to her throat. It was good that it was only Naruto this time; she could see through such a simple jutsu.

Speaking of the devil.

"Makes me want to kiss it."

She gave a little laugh, more because she could see through Naruto's henge than what he was saying. She berated her young self for not seeing through such a simple jutsu, but at the same time, she could appreciate how far she had gone; from a blushing, annoying fangirl, to an accomplished, strong medical ninja.

"Sakura, there is something I want to ask you." Naruto said, taking a seat beside her on the bench.

"What is it, Sasuke?"

He hesitated for a bit. Then, "What do you think of Naruto?" he asked. He was looking at her expectantly, waiting for an answer.

Sakura raised an eyebrow at him before glancing upwards at the cloudless, blue sky. "Naruto?" she began. She barely remembered what she told Naruto then when he asked the same question, but she guessed it was something that was borderline mean and inconsiderate.

Upon getting to know Naruto more as a teammate, Sakura knew there was more to that little boy with sunshine-kissed hair, more than just being a prankster that was avoided by every villagers in Konoha. Through the years, she realized Naruto was one of the best friends she had. He was a true friend, someone who was there for you when you need him. He was persevering, and he kept his promises. And even if he could not, he would die trying. He was an honorable man, a great ninja. Somebody strong, somebody you could trust. Someone who would not give up on you.

She said something bad about Naruto then, but she knew better now. She would make it up to Naruto this time, now that she was given a second chance.

"He's annoying," she replied. At the crestfallen look the boy beside her exhibited, Sakura briefly touched his hand. "But!" she added. She made sure that Naruto was looking at her again, so he could see the sincerity in her eyes and voice. "I'm sure that once I get to know him more, he'll prove to be something much, much greater."

He smiled then, a smile that was so unlike the boy he was pretending to be right now, and Sakura was glad that she made him feel better. She made a move to give him a friendly kiss on the cheek because Naruto deserved it for everything he did for her. Before she could give him one though, she heard a grumbling, and by the time she blinked Naruto was already scurrying away, clutching at his stomach.

Giggling, Sakura leaned back on the bench. She never really got to know what happened to Naruto then, or Sasuke she should say, considering she did not see through the henge before. But now she guessed, from the way he was clutching his stomach, that he needed a bathroom break, and it must have been due to something bad he ate that morning.

For a moment there was only silence broken by the rustling of the leaves that were carried by gentle summer breeze. But soon enough, she sensed another presence nearby.

"Sasuke!" she called, seeing him approaching her. She could tell this was the real one this time around.

"Have you seen Naruto?" He asked, looking around with an irritated look on his face.

"Umm, no. I haven't?" was her reply.

Her heartbeat doubled against her will. The last time she saw Sasuke, she almost killed him but stopped herself short; she loved him too much that she could not do it. However, she could not say the same for Sasuke. If not for Naruto, she would have been dead a long time ago. She did not know what happened to Sasuke after Itachi died, but she could see something inside him snapped and he was forever lost in his own darkness.

Sasuke turned to leave, intending to find the rascal who tied him up.

"Wait!" Sakura called. She was not really sure why she called after him, there was nothing else she could say anyways. Maybe because she wanted a bit more time with him. It had been too long since she last saw him, since the last time she was this close to him, and this had been the first time in years that she can let her guard down because there was no killing intent radiating off of him.

He was waiting for her to say something, and Sakura racked her brain to think of something to say. She couldn't really give him the revenge-won't-do-you-any-good speech, because as far as this time frame was concerned, she knew very little about him aside from his rookie-of-the-year status and good looks. If she began lecturing him about it, it would bring more trouble to her more than anything. It would also leave a bad first impression on him, which would make it harder for her to get closer to him later on.

When he began walking away, apparently not patient enough to wait for her to say something, Sakura yelled, "It's nice to be in the same team as you!"

_'That was lame,_' she mentally berated.

Sasuke stopped for a second, then continued walking without looking back. She smiled at this. At least he did not call her annoying. She successfully established a better first impression on him than she did before.

Now to prepare herself for their meeting with their jounin instructor.

_'I wonder who it could be' _Sakura thought, smirking to herself.

* * *

Naruto sat back on his spot, hiding his snickers behind the palm of his hands. The eraser hang precariously between the door and its frame.

"And you call this ingenious?" Sakura asked, her eyebrow raised in disbelief. "He's a jounin, he would not fall for a trick as simple and as obvious as this."

_'Except he did last time._' she added. That was actually pretty funny, and she would not do anything to stop it from happening again.

Sasuke, as usual, sat quietly beside her with his lips covered by his interlaced fingers once more. He glanced at her from her perch on the table, and she gave him a bright smile. She hoped he would not count that as annoying, and it seemed he did not when he merely directed his gaze in front of him.

The door slid open, and there was a muted thud as Kakashi's head poked in the room and the eraser landed on his hair with a cloud of white dust.

Naruto's laugh echoed in the almost empty classroom, taunting their new jounin instructor. "You fell for it! You fell for it!"

"Hmmm..." Kakashi mused, his thumb and index finger cradling his chin in a thoughtful expression. "How do I say this?"

All three of them looked at their instructor, drawn in by his words.

"My first impression is, I don't like you guys."

_'Go figure eh, Kakashi-sensei?_' Sakura asked him mentally, feeling very nostalgic. It had been a long time since Team Seven was formed, but first impressions were one of those things that someone did not forget easily. She still remembered this event, maybe not second for second, but there were moments that stood out such as his verbal account of his first impression about them. She missed being with her team.

Kakashi instructed them to meet him at the rooftop and promptly left the room. The three of them headed for the stairs with Naruto bounding ahead. Once they reached the stairs he raced up it, intending to beat Kakashi to the top. He was disappointed, however, to find the jounin already there, sitting on the railing looking very bored.

"Well, let's start with introducing yourselves," Kakashi said.

Always keen, Sakura raised her hand tentatively. "What would you like to know?"

Kakashi shrugged his shoulders in response. "How about your likes, dislikes, and your dreams for the future?"

"Hey! Why don't you start and introduce yourself first?!" Naruto yelled.

With a defeated sigh, Kakashi replied. "Well, my name is Hatake Kakashi. I have no desire to tell you my likes and dislikes. My dream... hmmm... and I have a lot of hobbies. It will be dark by the time I finished telling you. So, it's your turn. Start on the right."

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto!" Naruto started, adjusting his forehead protector and grinning toothily. "I like ramen, and I like it even more when Iruka-sensei treats me for ramen! I hate waiting for three minutes for my ramen to cook! And my dream is to surpass the Hokage and have the people of this village acknowledge my existence!"

Sakura smiled at Naruto, wishing that she could tell him how close he was to that dream. From the corner of her eyes, she saw Kakashi's slightly awed expression.

"... hobbies? Playing pranks on people I guess..." Naruto kept on going.

"I see. I see. Well that's enough. Next!" Kakashi intervened.

"My name is Uchiha Sasuke. There are a lot of things I dislike. I don't really like anything. And I wouldn't call it a dream, but I have an ambition: the resurrection of my clan..." A pause. "And to kill a certain man."

By the time Sasuke finished, the atmosphere of the place turned serious. Sakura could tell Naruto was a bit shaken, probably hoping it was not him Sasuke was referring to. Kakashi was serious as well, obviously not taking Sasuke's words lightly. Sakura was the same. This just strengthened her resolve to help Sasuke in any way she can, and to prevent him from going down the dark path to get his revenge.

Kakashi cleared his throat to get the attention of all three back to him. He motioned towards Sakura.

"It's your turn."

"My name is Haruno Sakura," she began. She would punch herself before she re-introduced herself the same way as she did the first time; she was not a fangirl anymore, for god's sake! At least, she would allow herself to let them peek at what the future has in store for them.

"I like to be useful in any way I can. I dislike being the weakest link in a group. And my dream for the future, is to be a medical ninja that will surpass Lady Tsunade," she finished with a smile. That did not sound too bad.

"Who's Tsunade?" Naruto asked, scratching his head.

Sakura turned to him. "She's the best medical ninja in history!" she replied proudly.

Naruto looked at her in awe, a dust of pink evident on his cheeks because his crush just acknowledged him without receiving a punch or an insult. "Good luck Sakura! You can do it!"

"Thanks, Naruto!" Sakura thanked. She glanced at Sasuke, but he was only looking ahead as usual, clearly uninterested. She supposed what she said did not interest him very much.

"Alright, enough with the introductions. Tomorrow, we'll begin our duties as ninjas. First, the four of us will do something," Kakashi said with his arms crossed in front of him.

"What is it? What is it?" Naruto shouted enthusiastically.

Kakashi gave a dramatic pause. Then, "Survival training."

They all expressed dissatisfaction about the survival training, saying that they had enough of it in the academy. Kakashi went on to explain that this time was different, because they would be fighting him instead. He proceeded to tell them that they must pass this training; otherwise, they would fail and go back to the academy. Those who graduated were only students who were considered to have a chance to become a genin. Of all the twenty-seven graduates, only nine will pass to become genin. After handing them a brochure with the rest of the details and reminding them to not eat breakfast tomorrow because they would just throw it up after, Kakashi bid them goodbye.

Sakura looked at the paper with determination in her eyes. There was no need to read through the small print because she already knew what would happen if they failed the survival training.

Tomorrow would be the chance to show everyone she had no plan on being the weakest of the team. However, it would be unwise to show them her full ability as a kunoichi. That would just be suspicious and cause questions to be thrown at her that she would rather not answer. In order to blend in, from now on, she must refrain from using her inhuman strength as well as her full medical abilities. She would allow herself to perform basic medical techniques, but nothing complicated for now. This way, she would be just like any normal kunoichi, but more advanced than the other graduates in terms of 'more training'.

Sakura bid Naruto and Sasuke goodbye. She planned to go to a more secluded area where she could train, to test out how much of her abilities she retained when she was switched back to her younger body. Considering her soul was more likely to have been reattached to her younger self, half of her chakra, the spiritual part of it, would likely be the same amount. Since her younger body was not used to this much power, the two halves of her chakra would not be able to perform together properly. She would need to train so that her body chakra and spiritual chakra could coexist again and function more effectively.

Upon reaching a clearing in the forest that was farther than the usual training grounds, Sakura scouted the area for any presence. Feeling that she was alone, Sakura looked around the clearing. This had been the same clearing she used to train in with Tsunade. There were a few boulders she could practice her strength on without the need to smash the grounds. For training, she would pick those up and perform squats with it. A couple of dummies stood to her right where she could polish up her taijutsu as well.

Walking towards one of the boulders she deemed to be the biggest and heaviest, Sakura began her training.

* * *

**To be continued...**

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(bb) Pretty short and uneventful, but I really like the way Sakura introduced herself on this one. I hope you guys enjoyed this!


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

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The next day, Sakura wast feeling much better. Her training the day before had been productive, and she had gotten a bit used to her younger body. Due to her natural skills in chakra control, it was only a little bit difficult to use her super strength at first. She had to adjust how much chakra she gathered and released, and once she got the hang of it, it presented the same destructive result. Even her healing abilities were up to par with her older self's abilities as she learned last night from healing her cuts, bruises, and sore muscles. Just a few more weeks of constant training and she should be back in her tip top shape.

Her hair was up in a ponytail today so it would not get in the way of their training. Plus, she had short hair for years already that she was not quite used to the long hair once more. She debated about cutting it short again, but decided against it. She would rather not do anything un-Sakura-like because that would cause her teammates to become suspicious.

She arrived at the training spot; a clearing with three training dummies, with the memorial right behind the posts. Sasuke and Naruto were already there, and after bidding them each a good morning, she sat down on top of one of the posts and waited for Kakashi.

Two hours later, Kakashi finally arrived to find his three students clearly agitated and bored.

"Hey guys, good morning!" Kakashi greeted, waving at them.

Sakura, for old time's sake, shouted along with Naruto, "You're LATE!"

With an apology along the lines of 'getting lost in the road of life', Kakashi settled an alarm clock on the middle post then began to explain to them the mechanics of the training.

"Here are two bells," he started, producing from his pockets the two objects. "You're mission is to take these from me before noon. Those who fail to get them from me before the time runs out will get no lunch. They will be tied up to one of the posts while the rest of us eat. You only need to get one bell; therefore, one of you will definitely be tied to the post."

All three students visibly gulped.

Kakashi continued on, more serious this time. "Whoever does not get a bell fails and will be sent back to the academy. You're allowed to use whatever weapons you brought with you. Come at me with an intent to kill."

At the last word, Naruto laughed and pointed at Kakashi. "But you're so slow! You can't even dodge an eraser yesterday!"

Ignoring his taunts, Kakashi looked at the orange-clad boy with a lazy eye. "In the real world, those who have no talent are the ones who bark the loudest. Well, ignore Mr. Dead Last and begin when—"

Before he could finish his sentence, Naruto took out a kunai and aimed at Kakashi, insulted by his words. Sakura was about to stop Naruto from lunging at Kakashi but refrained from doing so when she sensed Kakashi behind them. The jounin appeared in a wisp of smoke, holding Naruto's hand and head with both his hands. The kunai that Naruto was holding pointed dangerously close to his nape.

"So it seems that you have finally acknowledged me," he observed with a chuckle. "Alright, I think I'm beginning to like you guys. Let's get going. Begin!"

Sakura, along with Sasuke, hopped off and went to hide. Sakura hid under a bush, out of sight, but not secluded enough that she could not see how Naruto remained in the clearing, asking Kakashi to fight him. She tried to think of what she should do in this training.

'_Damn it. I would tell these two about teamwork, but we need to learn this together from Kakashi-sensei!'_ Sakura thought. She already knew the point of the two bells, but she did not want to be the one to tell Naruto and Sasuke about teamwork. If she told them right off the bat, then the training would be useless, and the two would probably dismiss it after. They need to go through the whole training since that would be more effective in instilling the concept of teamwork. It was like the difference of learning it by the book and actually experiencing it. It would be more compelling if someone learned it through experience.

When she looked up, she found Kakashi behind Naruto with his hands posed to form a Tiger seal. Without second thought, Sakura threw a kunai, aiming for Kakashi's hand. Consequences be damned, she would not let Naruto be hurt if Kakashi was planning to use a jutsu against him.

A faint memory of Naruto flying up the air in pain while clutching his behind fluttered in her mind.

_'Crap.'_

A little regretful that she had acted so carelessly and exposed to Kakashi where she was hiding, Sakura reassured herself that at least Naruto did not get to experience immense pain.

She focused again at the two before her. Naruto had been thrown to a nearby river by Kakashi who had whipped out his Icha Icha Paradise book, irritating the blonde even more. Her guard up, she rolled away just in time to dodge the same kunai she had thrown at the jounin a minute ago. Grabbing the weapon that was stuck on the ground, she swiftly stood up and chuck it back towards Kakashi to buy herself a little time.

It was just a body clone, seeing that the real Kakashi was still busy fighting Naruto's own shadow clones. If she landed a couple of good blows at the clone, it would disperse. Taijutsu is one of her specialty, and she had trained with Lee for a while before the war broke out. Sakura took her stance; she should be able to hold up against this clone fairly well.

She grabbed a couple of kunai tied with explosive tags from her weapon pouch and threw them at the direction of the clone. It exploded, creating a small cloud of smoke. Using it as a distraction, she ran towards the clone with a fist pulled back for a punch. The clone dodged it, holding her wrist and pulling it down along with the rest of her to the ground. Feeling the downward sensation, she used her free hand to prop her upside down on the ground, bending her body backwards to swing her left leg downwards in a strong kick.

She managed to hit the ground instead, creating a small crack because even without using her chakra, her attacks were still powerful. Now sitting on bended knees, she froze when the Kakashi clone appeared behind her, kunai aimed at her throat.

"I— !"

The clone was only able to utter a syllable after Sakura drove her elbow to his guts, effectively dispersing him. The kunai had nicked her skin due to her rash action, but it did not matter. The minuscule time frame that was provided to her when the clone opened its mouth to speak was all she needed to disperse it. Taking the kunai that was on the ground, Sakura shook her head. Leave it to Kakashi to underestimate her capabilities. Although, she supposed it was a good thing that he did not think much of her because then, only a little of her taijutsu capabilities were exposed, which left her with more cards up her sleeve. Kakashi probably even thought she was just lucky with that elbow jab.

_'Or he's more likely testing my abilities.'_

Sakura left her spot, intending to find a different one that was much closer to the alarm clock, when she heard a rustle in front of her. Preparing for another attack, she saw Sasuke come out from behind a huge tree trunk instead. Already, she distinguished that this was a genjutsu, so she was not as affected by the illusion of a bloodied, weapon-riddled Sasuke in front of her.

"Sakura..." the illusion called faintly.

Sakura ran towards him. "Sasuke!" she called, pretending to worry over Sasuke while she scanned the area for Kakashi's presence.

A gentle breeze fluttered, and amidst the silence broken only by the fake Sasuke's heavy breathing, Sakura heard the faint sound of bells coming from her right.

_'There!'_

Sakura threw a kunai at the direction of the trees where the sound was coming from, satisfied when it exploded on one of the branches where she calculated Kakashi was hiding. She had hidden a second kunai underneath the shadow of the first, and it was covered with an exploding note. She hopped up to the tree to inspect it. The branch had been darkened, and there was no sign of Kakashi.

Looking up the sky, the sun was only a few minutes away from being directly above them. Time was almost up, and they were nowhere near getting one bell from Kakashi. She hopped down towards the clearing, running past Sasuke who was buried to the ground all the way up to his neck.

"Sasuke!" she ran towards him. "Kakashi did this to you, huh?" she asked as she helped him get unstuck. He merely grunted as a reply, looking irritated and embarrassed of his predicament. She could not really help the small smile from escaping her lips at the sight of him stuck on the ground. His pride must be severely wounded right now.

"There's not much time left, judging by the sun," Sakura observed.

Sasuke dusted the dirt off his clothes. "Yeah. I'm going after it again. I was able to touch it last time."

He made a turn to leave so Sakura called after him. "Wait! If you were close to getting it last time, maybe if I helped you we'll both be able to get a bell."

"No," Sasuke said, giving her a dark look. "There's a certain man I need to kill. I need to do this on my own, to prove to myself that I can do it."

"Of course you can do it! But with my help... with others' help then you can surely—"

"I'm an avenger. I have to defeat Kakashi if I want a chance of fulfilling my ambition," Sasuke insisted. "I can't just rely on others if I want to be strong enough to kill _him_."

Sasuke started to walk away, and before Sakura could say anything the alarm clock went off, signaling the end of the training. As they walked towards the post, Sakura heard Sasuke curse in annoyance that time ran out before he even got another chance to get a bell from Kakashi.

Ten minutes later, Naruto was tied to the middle post, and Sakura and Sasuke were sitting on either side of him. Kakashi stood before them, examining them one by one.

"You all look very hungry," he observed. "But first, I want to ask a question. Sakura."

Sakura jumped a little at the mention of her name. She pointed at herself. "M-me?" Inwardly, she was hoping her two fights with Kakashi's clones did not stand out enough to cause him to be suspicious. Looking back to them, all it showed was her decent taijutsu and genjutsu skills and nothing that a graduate student could not perform with enough training.

"Yes, you. Mind telling me why you threw that kunai at me, and at the same time risking your location?"

"Well... it was careless and everything, but I saw Naruto was in danger. Plus, it gave him enough time to dodge your attack and counter it," she replied with a shrug, internally grateful it was all he asked.

Kakashi nodded, satisfied with her answer. "Alright then. Let's talk about the training. All three of you do not need to worry about being sent back to the academy."

"Haha! Yes! That must mean all three of us—!" Naruto shouted, squirming in excitement from his spot on the post.

"No. You and Sasuke do not need to go back to the academy, because you should just quit as ninjas. Sakura, on the other hand, passed the test," Kakashi finished with a serious note.

"What!? But Sakura did not even get a bell! And what do you mean we should quit as ninjas!" Naruto complained. His hands were already tightening into fists as the anger rose inside him. "Fine! So we failed the stupid test and did not get any bells, but how come the bastard and I have to quit?!"

Kakashi replied, "Because the two of you are worthless people who do not need to be ninjas."

Sakura looked worriedly at the two boys. Even Sasuke was visibly upset. She concentrated her gaze down at the ground guiltily. She should not have thrown that kunai. Instead of helping Naruto, the two of them were now upset with her because she got to pass and they did not. It was definitely not a good way to start building on their teamwork if Sasuke and Naruto were both pissed at her.

She let out a small scream when Sasuke lunged at Kakashi, but the jounin was fast and had him on the ground in a blink of an eye.

"Do not underestimate ninjas. Sakura, since you seem to be the first one to grasp the concept of this training, why don't you explain to these two morons why we are divided into groups and train together?"

Sakura nodded lightly and proceeded to answer Kakashi's question. "Because, the most important concept of this training is teamwork. This is the answer to the bell test, is that correct?"

"Exactly, Sakura," Kakashi agreed. From below him, Sasuke had stopped trying to break free, and Naruto began to listen intently. "Only Sakura here tried to help Naruto when he was in an unsafe situation. A bit careless, but she tried. And she even tried to convince you, Sasuke, to work with her to try to get the bells from me, but you declined. You keep thinking that everyone will just get in the way."

Kakashi turned to Naruto. "And Naruto, all you did was run around and even abandoned the mission when you thought I was not looking. The test was designed to make you fight amongst yourselves, and Sakura was the only one to try and help you two out."

Kakashi let go of Sasuke, continuing his talk about the importance of teamwork and the consequences that could befall someone if they failed to work with a team. At one point, he sounded forlorn as he spoke about the names etched in the memorial stone.

"I will give you two another chance, so do not have hard feelings against Sakura. For now, you can all eat, except for Naruto. This is your punishment for abandoning the mission and trying to eat lunch by yourself. Anyone who gives him food will fail, even you Sakura."

With that warning, Kakashi disappeared.

There was a moment of silence as Sasuke and Sakura started to eat their lunch. Sakura wanted share her lunch with Naruto, but she did not want to initiate it. Sasuke had to realize for himself the importance of teamwork, that Naruto would only get in the way if he was hungry. So she waited, glancing at Sasuke every second to see if he would break.

A minute later, and Sakura silently sighed in relief when Sasuke extended his hand that was holding the lunch box. Naruto stared open-mouthed at Sasuke.

"If you do not eat, then you will just get in the way. We will work together to get the bells after this," Sasuke explained, his eyes searching for any hints of Kakashi's presence nearby.

"B-but..."

"It's okay, Naruto!" Sakura chirped in, holding out her lunchbox as well. "Besides, we can't sense Kakashi-sensei anywhere, so he wouldn't know. Right, Sasuke?"

Sasuke nodded.

Naruto felt tears in his eyes at their thoughtfulness. This had been the first time, aside from Iruka, that someone had been nice to him.

Just as Sakura was about to feed Naruto, Kakashi appeared before them, surrounded with an ominous aura.

"YOU GUYS...!"

Naruto shrunk back in fear, but both Sasuke and Sakura managed to stand their ground and posed defensively.

Kakashi's one visible eye closed with a crinkle, indicating that he was smiling underneath his mark.

"...pass!"

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**To be continued...**

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(bb) I am happy with how this chapter turned out. And I decided to post this today to celebrate the newest chapter of the manga. About time for all three of them (especially Sakura), don't you guys think?

I hope you guys enjoyed this!


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

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_Those who abandon their comrades are lower than trash_.

_'Does that make you lower than trash then, Sasuke?'_ Sakura asked in her mind, kicking the dummy harder, followed by a punch. The words Kakashi spoke weeks before had been lingering in her thoughts because now, they held more meaning to her than they did years ago when she was just starting her ninja career.

Somehow, Sakura refused to associate the word 'trash' with Sasuke, even though he abandoned them and had every intention of killing them every time they crossed paths. There was a bud of hope that remained within her, the hope that Sasuke would successfully surface from the ocean of darkness that he was trapped in. That hope bloomed now that she was suddenly flung back into the past.

Sakura sat on the ground, breathing heavily from her rigorous training. Today she was practicing on her taijutsu, a lighter exercise compared to her strenuous one yesterday afternoon, when she practiced on her chakra-induced strength. Needless to say she was getting better at her chakra training, and her spiritual and body chakra were working together much better than when she started.

The past few weeks had been a whirlwind of events, and she was just starting to slowly adjust to her environment. Sometimes she still jumped a bit when she sees her young reflection on the mirror, but it was slowly becoming negligible. Her conversations with her team had been awkward for her at first, but now it was not a laborious task as it was on the first day she woke up in her younger body.

Sakura took a swig of water from her bottle to hydrate her body. Last night, she thought of the possibility of being brought back to her correct time period. There might be a jutsu that could accomplish such feat, or even the Kyuubi itself could be the key to it. After all, it was the Kyuubi who brought her to this time period in the first place.

She shook her head at those thoughts. It did not matter right now if she could go back to the present or if she was stuck in the past. What mattered was how she has the ability to change or prevent the things that were important to her from happening. Also, it was imperative that nobody else knew of where she really was from, and the knowledge that she had of the future. It could be disastrous if such knowledge fell on the wrong hands.

"Alright, one more hour!" she said to herself, cutting off her train of thoughts before it got worse. She stood up and dusted the skirt of her dress.

Team Seven was given a day off today, and she chose to train in one of the more common training grounds since she would not be using any of her special abilities. So she was not really surprised when she heard footsteps behind her. What surprised her was to find Sasuke standing there, his hands in their usual position inside his shorts pockets.

"Oh, hey Sasuke! Nice to see you here," she greeted. By now she was comfortable to be around him, and her heart did not double its rate anymore whenever he was around. Still, it was hard not to see the older, more lifeless Sasuke in him, but she was slowly learning to differentiate between the two. She could even talk to him normally now, without the awkwardness associated with the knowledge of how the boy in front of him would turn out to be in the future.

The young Uchiha just grunted in response, before turning around to leave.

"Wait! Where are you going?" Sakura asked, a little irritated that he seemed to be making a habit of turning his back on her. She supposed some things just never change; he would still avoid her even if her fangirl level had been knocked off to zero ever since they were put in the same team. She did not blame him though, he was most likely wary of her behavior around him still. For all he knew, she could just be pretending to not be the stalker fangirl she once was, only to pounce on him once he let his guard down.

"You're training here, and I am imposing," was his simple reply, his steps not ceasing.

"No you're not! You can train here too, if you'd like. We can train together!" Sakura thought for a bit, and then added, "If you want we can spar?"

"Why would I want to do that?" he asked, finally stopping to look at her over his shoulder with a hint of a smirk gracing his features.

Sakura shot him a dirty look. He was clearly mocking her! Well, two could play that game.

"Sasuke, between you and me, I was the first one to pass the survival training, right?" Sakura sneered at him, taunting him and returning his smirk confidently. That seemed to hit a nerve, because the smirk on his face was replaced with a frown. She remained silent for a few more seconds, waiting for him to say anything back, and when he did not go anywhere she smiled at him. Sasuke would pounce at anything competitive, and anything that hurt his pride.

"So I'm guessing that's a yes?" she asked, not missing the deepening of his frown at the double meaning in her words. Sakura never knew she had a sadistic side that took pleasure in taunting the Uchiha, but now that she knew of its existence, she was loving it.

Sasuke walked towards her slowly, confidently. "Don't start crying once I'm done with you."

"Oh don't worry Sasuke, I say the same for you," she replied, cracking her sore knuckles loose. As soon as she uttered the last word, Sasuke disappeared briskly, leaving only dust on where he once stood.

_'Fast! But—'_

"—not fast enough!" Sakura shouted as she turned around to block Sasuke's fist that was aiming for her back. She returned his offense with her own fist which he dodged by crouching down, only to block Sakura's knee with his free hand.

They jumped back at the same time, measuring each other for any opportunity to attack once more. Like two performers, they moved as one, throwing kicks and punches when possible and blocking and dodging as well. At one point, Sakura used both her forearms to block each of Sasuke's fist, then she swiftly slid them down so she could hold Sasuke's wrists and flip him over her back.

Sasuke growled in annoyance, bouncing back to his feet and leaping towards her like an angry lion, ready to devour its meal.

Sakura dodged Sasuke's combo of punches and kicks just in time before flipping back a couple of times to put some distance between them. She was enjoying this more and more as Sasuke's irritation increased. Even though her facade showed that she was putting a lot of effort into this spar, in reality, she was only putting enough to counterattack Sasuke's movements. If she really gave her all, she could knock Sasuke off in a few minutes. She had the advantage of having three years of training in taijutsu; more notably, she practiced with Lee himself, and Gai's prized pupil's speed was far more superior than Sasuke's speed right now. Nevertheless, Sasuke was still putting up a fight. After all, he was not the Rookie of the Year for nothing.

"When did someone who fawned over me all the time suddenly performed well at taijutsu?" Sasuke asked in between his strikes.

The question caught Sakura off guard, providing an opportunity for Sasuke to take her down, effectively pinning her arms to the ground with his two hands so she was unable to attack him with her fists.

Sakura needed a second to collect her thoughts, weaving through her brain for an excuse. She recalled, back in the academy, that she performed quite poorly when it came to taijutsu, or anything that was not a test of intelligence for that matter. It was mostly due to the fact that she never had the heart to train after school, but instead, she spent most of her day stalking Sasuke, or daydreaming about him, and worrying about her looks.

Although, she felt a little elated that Sasuke noticed enough that he was impressed with her improvement, and even complimented her in his own, twisted kind of way. Furthermore, she was happy that he agreed to spar with her in the first place instead of running away because, she had to face it, she was originally a fangirl not too long ago. Huh, if she knew then that he would agree to a spar instead of a date, she would have asked him to spar with her instead. Although, he probably would have still said no back then. The only difference this time around was that she passed the survival training before he did, so she was now someone worth sparring with.

Back to the matter at hand.

"It's called training, Sasuke," Sakura replied, knowing the excuse would work well enough. "I'm not... following you all the time you know. When you don't see me, I'm probably training. And besides, a ninja's best advantage, is the element of surprise."

With that being said, Sakura used her right leg to hook it over Sasuke's left, using a little bit of her strength to flip them both over. It was now her turn to hold Sasuke's hands still on the ground, smiling down at him triumphantly.

"So that someone probably ranked poorly when it came to taijutsu. But maybe she did that on purpose," Sakura explained with a thoughtful expression on her face. Then, she leaned forward so that she was close enough that his breath fanned on her lips. "And whoever this someone is, has a lot more of surprises in store for you."

She jumped up, freeing him, feeling her face heat up at their proximity. Dirty or not, Sasuke was still... undeniably handsome. The times that she met him when they were fifteen were testament that the Sasuke in front of her was going to grow into someone more handsome, almost like a god in looks and even strength. She never paid as much attention to it as she did now, because those times were a matter of life and death. If she focused more on his looks, he would have used that opening to stick his katana through her like a hot knife through a butter.

Sakura held her hands behind her back, taking a few seconds to stabilize her breathing.

"Should we say that was a tie?" she offered, ending their sparring session.

She looked at Sasuke, waiting for him to reply. He was slowly standing up, so Sakura rushed over to him and held out her hand to help him up. Sasuke ignored her offer though, instead opting to stand up on his own. He looked irritated again, to her dismay, but it was probably because he underestimated her and she ended up doing fairly well in the fight.

"You're annoying," he said as he passed her.

Sakura only smiled at him, taking no offense at his words. Unlike before, there was no hatred that laced his words, nor did he shoot a glare at her direction.

"A ninja must look underneath the underneath, remember?" she reminded him.

He grunted in response, and then made a move to leave. Sakura did not stop him this time, opting to watch his retreating back instead with the smile still evident on her face.

"See you tomorrow!" she called happily after him.

She should have felt hurt when he called her annoying, but this time, he did not call her annoying because she was a clueless fangirl who only thought about herself. This time, he called her annoying because she surprised him by proving to be just as good as him in taijutsu, something he was not expecting from a girl who constantly asked him out on dates, who constantly annoyed him so she could get his first kiss, and who constantly worried about how she looked.

Her standing in his books seemed to be off to a good start, or at least, better than before. Sakura, finally feeling the presence of exhaustion in her body, grabbed her things and headed home with a smile still lingering on her lips at the thought.

* * *

"No! No! No, no! I don't want any more lame missions! Find us a good, more incredible one!" Naruto exclaimed, his forearms crossed together to form an X. Behind him, his two teammates agreed silently, while Kakashi had on a look of despair because he knew the Hokage would reprimand him for Naruto's improper behavior.

Sakura herself was becoming more and more restless at performing trivial missions which she could accomplish even when blindfolded. Her body itched for some action, and even though she trained hard every day, it was incomparable to the adrenaline that would rush in her veins whenever she faced an enemy.

She half-listened to the Hokage's explanation of how missions were divided among the ninja ranks, while her brain busied itself with recollecting how their first mission outside the village had gone. She perceived that this was the day the Hokage assigned a C-rank mission to Team Seven; she faintly remembered their D-rank mission to retrieve Tora the cat, and to add to it was Naruto's complaints to the Hokage himself.

"Alright," the Third Hokage exclaimed, finally breaking under Naruto's incessant complains. "I will give your team a C-rank mission if you want it that much. Mr. Tazuna, please come in."

The old man gestured towards the door. It slid open to reveal a man in his late forties, chugging at a bottle of what Sakura could tell right away was sake. While he drank the alcoholic beverage like it was water, his left eye was open and scrutinizing them.

"Am I going to be safe around these brats?" he questioned, leaning against the doorframe to keep his balance. "They don't look reliable, and they look like wannabe ninjas, especially the shortest one with the stupid look on his face."

Sakura had to hold back Naruto once he realized who the their client was referring to, while apologizing to the man profusely at the same time. Then she reprimanded Naruto lightly, reminding him to show some manners. Secretly, she kind of missed not having to tilt her head up when she wanted to talk to Naruto.

Once the Hokage described to them the mission details, they all agreed to meet at the gates after thirty minutes. Naruto excitedly raised a fist up in the air; it was his first time leaving the village.

As the gate and the wall surrounding Konoha disappeared from their view, Sakura's guard was immediately up by force of habit. The sun was high up in the sky, and Naruto walked ahead of them as they fell into a steady pace. As they passed a puddle of water, she was quick to pick up the oddity of its presence, considering it had not rained recently.

"Mr. Tazuna," Sakura addressed their client from her spot beside Sasuke, "When you requested for our village's assistance, you did say this would be a simple escort mission, right?"

Their client took another swig of his drink before answering her. Sakura did not miss the way he looked up ahead, hiding his face. "Yes, girl. Were you not listening when your Hokage went through the details? Bah, when I first saw you I thought you'd be the smartest of the bunch."

"What did you say? Of course Sakura is the smartest!" Naruto retaliated, and Kakashi had to hold him back when he threatened that he would cause bodily harm on the old man again.

Just then, Kakashi was bound by two ninjas who appeared out of nowhere. Before any of them could react properly, the two masked men pulled at the chain and Kakashi was split into pieces.

Sakura immediately launched into action, placing herself in front of their charge in case they went after him. She cursed when they instead rounded on Naruto who was the closest to Kakashi at the time of the attack. Their chain was high up in the air, forming loops that was meant to bind the blonde.

Sasuke leaped into the air immediately, throwing a shuriken that caught the chain and embedded it on a nearby tree. He threw a kunai at the tree, hitting the shuriken right in the middle, effectively fastening the chain on the tree. Sasuke landed on the ninjas' clawed hands, although he was not expecting the chain to break away from their claws.

The two enemies ran past Naruto, their claws pulled back and ready to attack Sakura and Tazuna. From her peripheral view, Sakura saw Sasuke coming to intercept the two ninjas so she threw a kunai at one of them while Sasuke took care of the other. The man simply blocked the kunai with his armored hand. Quickly, she pushed Tazuna farther behind her, a little peeved that she had to hold back on her speed and strength as she dodged the attack from the same one who blocked her kunai.

Kakashi chose that time to appear, holding the two attackers in a tight chokehold. Knowing that Kakashi now had everything under control, Sakura turned around to check on their charge.

"Are you alright, Mr. Tazuna? I apologize for pushing you back," she inquired.

The old man merely grunted, holding on to his stomach where Sakura had pushed him. "I'm okay, although that push was pretty brawny."

Sakura laughed awkwardly, apologizing again. "I'm stronger than I look," she explained.

Kakashi applauded Sasuke and Sakura's handling of the situation while he expressed his regret that Naruto got injured. Upon hearing this, Sakura's medic instincts took over and she rushed to Naruto.

"Hey. Are you alright, Mr. Scaredy Cat?" Sasuke taunted, smirking.

"Oh stop it Sasuke," Sakura reprimanded lightly. She turned to Naruto, holding his injured hand gently to examine it. He was shaken, and regret and self-loathing shone brightly in his blue eyes. "Everyone is bound to react differently on their first time facing an enemy," she explained in an attempt to make Naruto feel better. She gave her injured teammate an encouraging smile, although Naruto still looked dejected.

"Naruto, don't worry about it. Also, their claws are laced with poison, it will spread faster if you move too much," Kakashi spoke. He turned to Tazuna, intending to question him why there were ninjas targeting him.

While Kakashi was busy asking their charge for more information that he refrained to disclose when he first asked for Konoha's assistance, Sakura coaxed Naruto to sit down under the shade of a tree.

"Here Naruto, we'll open up your wound to release the poisoned blood," Sakura offered, taking out a basic first aid kit from her backpack. She inspected the wound, noticing that the Kyuubi was already doing its part and healing the cut. His hand was still shaking as it lay on top of hers, and she knew he was still upset that he was unable to do anything on their first real mission outside the village.

"Mr. Tazuna, it causes a lot of problem when you lie about the mission details. My students are not prepared for this kind of mission; we are now operating outside of our duties," Kakashi explained as he and Tazuna approached the three younger members of the party. "One of my students is injured, he will need to be taken back to the village for proper medical treatment."

"It's alright, Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura interjected, "I know basic medical treatment and-!"

Sakura, Kakashi, Sasuke, and Tazuna stopped dead as Naruto took a kunai and stabbed his injured hand with it.

"We'll continue the mission!" Naruto insisted, his face painted with determination.

Kakashi sighed. "Alright, then. If you guys insist, we will escort Mr. Tazuna until he gets back to his village."

Sakura finished tending Naruto's wound, all the while receiving praises from him which she answered with, "This is just the simple stuff. It only requires textbook knowledge and a little training."

After that Naruto was back to his bouncy self, even unnecessarily throwing shuriken at anything that moved as his way of being on guard. Sasuke had fallen into steps next to Sakura, and she took this opportunity to inquire about his condition.

"Are you okay, Sasuke? You're not hurt?" she asked, her eyes checking if he has any injury that needed attention.

"Yeah."

"Everyone, get down!"

At Kakashi's warning, Sakura quickly dropped to the ground just as a huge sword went swirling past where her neck would have been. As she regained her footing, she looked up at the direction where the blade wedged itself on a tree... with Zabuza standing on its handle.

* * *

**To be continued...**

* * *

(bb) I hope you guys enjoyed this!


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